China on Wednesday rejected reports alleging it provided military support to Iran, calling the claims “purely fabricated”, even as reports raised questions about Tehran’s alleged use of a Chinese-built satellite to monitor US bases.

US President Donald Trump said he had asked Chinese President Xi Jinping in a letter not to supply weapons to Iran, and received a response denying any such support, according to an interview aired on Wednesday.

"I wrote him a letter asking him not to do that, and he wrote me a letter saying that, essentially, he's not doing that," Trump told Fox Business Network's "Mornings with Maria" program.

Trump, who did not specify when the letters were exchanged, had last week threatened countries with an immediate 50 per cent tariff if they supplied Iran with weapons.

He also said he did not expect global oil market shifts linked to the Iran conflict or developments in Venezuela to affect his planned meeting with Xi next month. "He's somebody that needs oil. We don't," Trump said.

Spokesperson of ministry of foreign affairs of China, Lin Jian on Wednesday dismissed the allegations.

In a post on X, he said, "Media reports accusing China of providing military support to Iran are purely fabricated. If the US goes ahead with tariff hikes on China on the basis of these accusations, China will respond with countermeasures."

A Financial Times report on Wednesday said Iran secretly acquired a Chinese spy satellite, giving them a new capability to target US military bases across the Middle East during the war.

The TEE-01B satellite, built and launched by Chinese company Earth Eye Co, was acquired by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Aerospace Force in late 2024 after it was launched into space from China, the report said citing leaked Iranian military documents.

The Iranian military commanders directed the satellite to monitor major US military sites, the newspaper said, citing time-stamped coordinate lists, satellite imagery and orbital analysis. The images were taken in March before and after drone and missile strikes on those locations, FT said.

Earlier on Monday, Trump said that Chinese President Xi Jinping has not reached out to him yet, but he would like to see the war ended.

As part of the deal between Tehran and Beijing, the IRGC received access to commercial ground stations operated by Emposat, a Beijing-based provider of satellite control and data services provider with a network extending across Asia, Latin America and other regions, according to the report.

The White House, CIA, Pentagon, China's foreign affairs ministry and defence ministry, Earth Eye Co and Emposat did not respond to requests by Reuters for comment on the developments.

The satellite captured images of Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia on March 13, 14 and 15, FT said.

On March 14, Trump confirmed US planes at the base had been hit.

According to the report, the satellite also monitored Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan and locations close to the US Fifth Fleet naval base in Manama, Bahrain, and Erbil airport, Iraq, around the time of IRGC-claimed attacks on facilities in those areas.

On Monday, talking to reporters while receiving a DoorDash delivery at the Oval Office, Trump said, "No, but we have a very good relationship with China. He would like to see this ended also. He certainly wants it ended. Everyone, I want to see it ended too, but we can't give a nuclear weapon to a group of people that have caused nothing but havoc for 47 years."

Responding to a question from CNN regarding US intelligence inputs and possible communication with the Chinese leadership, Trump clarified that he had not directly spoken to Xi on the matter, but cautioned that Beijing would face consequences if it extended military support to Tehran.

"If China does that, China will have big problems, OK?" Trump said.

Amid these developments, Trump confirmed that his previously postponed visit to China has been rescheduled for next month.

In a detailed post on Truth Social, Trump confirmed the revised schedule and outlined plans for reciprocal diplomatic engagement between Washington and Beijing.

"My meeting with the Highly Respected President of China, President Xi Jinping, which was originally postponed due to our Military operation in Iran, has been rescheduled and will take place in Beijing on May 14th and 15th. First Lady Melania and I will also host President Xi and Madame Peng for a reciprocal visit in Washington, D.C., at a later date this year," he stated.